Topics

share this article

follow Us

The local distributor of Kickers footwear, PT Mahkota Petriedo, apologized for labeling its products as “halal” despite some being made with pig skin. The company claimed to have recalled its products from the market in November.

“We admitted that it was a mistake and we apologize. All products were recalled on Nov. 1 2012,” the company’s lawyer, Ikhsan Abdullah, said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Ikhsan added that the “halal” labeling was done due to the shoe company’s misunderstanding of the country’s consumer protection law. “By putting ‘pig lining’ statement on the product, we aimed to educate and protect the consumers,” he said.

As previously reported, the Jakarta Police received a complaint against Kickers from a consumer, identified as Winarno, saying that he found the words “pig skin lining” written on the tags. According to city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, Winarno had filed the report with the police on Dec. 19, saying that the first reason he purchased the shoes was because they had a sticker declaring the shoes were “halal”.

Rikwanto said that Winarno had filed a report with the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) and the council had suggested the shoe company recall their products. “We would process the report. We will summon the consumer and also the MUI as a witness,” Rikwanto said recently.

Meanwhile, Tulus Abadi of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said that Muslim consumers were not only forbidden from consuming pork but also using any products that contained pig, and the company must label its products clearly.

“The company had violated the consumer protection law by labeling its products ‘halal’ and the police should bring this case forward for criminal proceedings for deceiving consumers,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. (JP/nad)